Transcriptional Regulation Of The Tumour Suppressor Gene, Retinoic Acid Receptor Beta
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$336,540.00
Summary
Cancer is still the second commonest cause of death in children. Neuroblastoma is the commonest solid tumour under the age of five years. Neuroblastoma responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy, unlike many other childhood cancers, and thus represents a major unsolved child health problem. A major advance in the field was a recent trial in th US demonstrating that treatment with oral vitamin A improved survival rates in children with advanced neuroblastoma. In previous studies we have identif ....Cancer is still the second commonest cause of death in children. Neuroblastoma is the commonest solid tumour under the age of five years. Neuroblastoma responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy, unlike many other childhood cancers, and thus represents a major unsolved child health problem. A major advance in the field was a recent trial in th US demonstrating that treatment with oral vitamin A improved survival rates in children with advanced neuroblastoma. In previous studies we have identified that a particular gene retinoic acid receptor beta, known to be involved in the vitamin A anticancer effect may be deficient in some neuroblastoma tumours, and is vital to the anticancer effect of vitamin A in neuroblastoma cells. In this application we hope to define those cellular factors which are necessary for turning on the expression of this gene.Read moreRead less